Ukrainian boxing champion slams Joe Rogan for spreading ‘Russian propaganda’

Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko, a longtime boxing champion considered one of the greatest heavyweights ever, accused podcaster Joe Rogan of “repeating Russian propaganda,” after an episode in which Rogan suggested that the Ukrainian and American leaders “about to start World War III.”

In the Friday episode of ‘Joe Rogan Experience’, the presenter was critical President Joe Biden’s move to allow Ukraine to attack Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles, saying he did not feel safe because “they are launching missiles at Russia.”

‘How are you allowed to do that when you’re on the road? Like people don’t want you there anymore,” Rogan said. “This should be some kind of pause for major actions that could potentially trigger World War III. Maybe that would be a good thing to avoid from a dying former president.”

Rogan extended his criticism to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. referring to a presidential speech in which Zelenskyy had said that “Putin is terrified,” followed the launch of ballistic missiles at Ukraine last Thursdayafter Ukraine’s attack on Russia earlier that week.

“Zelenskyy says Putin is terrified. F— you man. F— you people. You damn people are about to start World War III,” Rogan said.

Rogan even accused Zelenskyy of “throwing a lot of punch.”

“This is cocaine-like behavior. “Putin is terrified, man, Putin is terrified. We have him.

We got him, man, we got him.” What are you talking about? He has nuclear missiles. You damn monkeys,” Rogan said.

False drug claims regarding Zelensky have been raised by Russian propagandists in the past, including through a widely shared discussion digitally altered video where Zelenskyy appears to say he uses cocaine, and through a disinformation campaign by the Russian propaganda group Storm-1516. Last year, pro-Russian propagandists had done the same celebrities tricked into making paid videos on Cameo who were then manipulated into insinuating that Zelensky had a drug problem.

Klitschko, the retired Ukrainian boxer, responded by posting a video on Xaddressed to Rogan, has been viewed 11 million times as of Monday. He called Rogan’s comments “Russian propaganda.”

“You talk about these American weapons being sent to Ukraine, which you think will lead to World War III, so let me tell you that you are repeating Russian propaganda,” Klitschko said in his video. “Putin’s Russia is in trouble, so they want to scare you and people like you. His war would last three days. It lasted three years thanks to the heroism and sacrifice of us Ukrainians. So you are using the only weapon that Putin really intends to use: propaganda, and this weapon is really weakening our democracies.”

Klitschko closed his video by calling on Rogan to have him on his podcast, where he said the two could discuss his “different points” “as free men.”

Rogan’s X account for his podcast later responded to Klitschko’s videowith the text: “Does this make sense to anyone or just an attempt to get on the podcast?” So Klitschko responded saying, “Fear factor = Giving a public opinion about a nation, but not being able to discuss your opinions and facts with another public figure of the nation you had an opinion about. We would only meet in the podcast ring, not in the boxing ring. Let’s do it! What are you waiting for?”

Klitschko held belts of the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Organization and the International Boxing Organization from 2008 to 2015. The former boxer did not lose a single fight from 2004 to 2015 and later retired in 2017. Klitschko’s brother, Vitali Klitschko, is currently the mayor of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, and was also a former heavyweight champion.

Former Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba also addressed Rogan’s comments: write in an X-post“Hey @joerogan, panicking against the Ukrainians without giving them a chance to say anything is not a fair fight. If you ever feel like having a real conversation, let’s sit down and talk about all things Ukraine, including dragons. You know your stuff, I know mine. Cigars on me.”

Rogan also said on his Friday episode that he believes the incoming administration of newly elected President Donald Trump would further ease the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, saying, “We voted for Trump and his idea is to stop all this stuff – and hopefully he can do that. That.”

Rogan supported Trump the day before the election, after previously having him as a guest on his podcast.

CNN reports this that Zelensky recently said he believed the war in Ukraine “will end more quickly with the policies of this team that will now lead the White House,” referring to the Trump administration.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com